See all forum discussions about Green Commons
 Subscribe to new posts about Green Commons Post a new question aboutGreen Commons

Forum discussion

Green Commons

Solar Tool Substitute

Hello all,

Does anybody know of a substitute for Ecotect's solar tool? I use it to very quickly test shade options and I love how I can easily test horizontal and vertical elements, tilting and rotating them. I can have a window with the façade on one side and the sun path with the shadow mask on the other side. It is easy to use and surprisingly helpful to explain performance to the rest of the team. We use it to quickly develop an idea that we will then test with other programs for energy, solar gains, glare etc.  I also like the sun shading chart in climate consultant but I find that it is more difficult for the rest of the team to understand.

Thanks!

Pablo

0
Post a reply

You rely on LEEDuser. Can we rely on you?

LEEDuser is supported by our premium members, not by advertisers.

Go premium for $15.95  »

Mon, 10/21/2019 - 02:17

Pablo, For a class I teach, my students use DIVA for Grasshopper to generate a sun path/shading mask diagram similar to the one from Ecotect. I'd be happy to share the setup files with you-- feel free to send me an email. Best, Jeff
Profile picture for user dflandro
Douglas Flandro
Sustainability Design Leader, Exhibit Designer, Associate
CambridgeSeven
LEEDuser Premium Member
9 thumbs up

Mon, 10/21/2019 - 14:57

I would be interested to know of substitutes as well.

Mon, 10/21/2019 - 17:08

Hi Jeff That would be great, though I don’t see your email. My email is pablo.laroche@crtkl.com. Thanks Pablo Pablo La Roche Ph.D. LEED AP BD+C Associate Vice President Sustainable Design Lead +1 213 633 1194 Direct | +1 213 631 6203 Cell F
Profile picture for user davidp
David Posada
Integrated Design & LEED Specialist
SERA Architects
LEEDuser Expert
1361 thumbs up

Mon, 10/21/2019 - 20:45

Climate Consultant, which is a free download, may not do everything you described or look as nice, but it does allow you to drag from the edge the Sun Shading Chart to show vertical or horizontal shading fins. For anyone who's not familiar with this tool or function:  Once you download the .EPW file for your climate location and step through several screens, you get to the Sun Shading Chart screen.  Choose 'Summer Fall' in the Plot Months option, 'Display Grid,' and 'Display Shading Calculator.'  The sun shading chart indicates with red the sun positions for which a generic building in your climate location may experience overheating. Drag the bottom arrow or triangle to change the building orientation from due south, and then drag the small circle at the top of the grid to simulate a horizontal sun shade. The central vertical axis indicates profile angle for your horizontal shade as you try different depths and see the extent of the shading coverage.  For vertical fins to the east or west, drag the circle at the bottom left (east) or bottom right (west) inward to simulate deeper or shallower fins and see the shading impact.  You can also choose 'Display Obstruction Elevation' to indicate the direction, height, and distance of shading obstructions like trees or nearby buildings. These appear on the sun path chart as rectangular bars to indicate what parts of the sun path will be shaded by those obstructions.  Not bad for free download!  David  
Profile picture for user gfuertes
Gwen Fuertes
Associate
LMS Architects
LEEDuser Basic Member
0 thumbs up

Mon, 10/21/2019 - 22:14

And for those who are more familiar with the stereographic sunpath diagram… this applet can work to show shading obstructions from horizon conditions.. and if you’re clever you can “fake” it out to be a window shading mask by having one of the obstructions effectively be the window wall. I’ve seen that you can also import geometry which I haven’t tried to do. https://drajmarsh.bitbucket.io/shading-box.html Gwen Fuertes, AIA, LEED AP BD+C 415.495.1700 x 311 From: David

Tue, 10/22/2019 - 00:33

Hi David, I use the Shading Calculator in CC all the time and I love it! Once I find the Vertical and Horizontal Shadow Angles it is perfect. And I use it to demonstrate that what matters is the VSA and HSA. However, it lacks the visual connection that I can establish with the solar tool. In the solar tool I can do a façade with a window then place it with the appropriate orientation and then easily add vertical and horizontal fins and tilt and rotate them. The effect on the shadow mask is in real-time and I can have both open at the same time and show a test. People can understand it. I have found that it is harder for most to understand in CC. In case you are interested, I am attaching a paper I presented that shows a shade system design using CC. Thanks! Pablo

Tue, 10/22/2019 - 00:36

Yes, I love his tools! Pablo La Roche Ph.D. LEED AP BD+C Associate Vice President Sustainable Design Lead +1 213 633 1194 Direct | +1 213 631 6203 Cell

Add new comment

To post a comment, you need to register for a LEEDuser Basic membership (free) or login to your existing profile.